Love Thy Neighbour
by The Incognito Brony
Summary: Isabella's been told that the family are moving back to Mexico after the sudden death of Grandpa Garcia; she doesn't know how to break the news to her friends, especially Phineas. A Phineas and Isabella story which takes place when the gang are around 13/14 years old. Substitutes "act your age".
1. Chapter 1: Grandpa Garcia

**Chapter 1: Grandpa Garcia**

The date was August 24th, just 12 days before summer vacation was over, and Isabella was about to receive some sad news from her parents. She had just returned home from Phineas and Ferb's house after an amazing day of inventing, hanging out, storytelling and slipping into Phineas-Land, so she had a little spring in her step as she walked through the door. "Hey mom, it's me" she said gleefully whilst shutting the door. Vivian was sat in the living room with a tissue in her hand whilst letting out little sniffles and sobs; she hadn't heard Isabella come in. Isabella heard the faint sounds of her mother's sadness and ran immediately to her aid; "my parental comforting patch will surely help in this situation" she thought to herself. "Mom, what's the matter?" Isabella said in an almost whisper, "are you hurt?" Vivian looked up suddenly to see her daughter stood beside her with a concerned look on her face, so she wiped her eyes quickly whilst pulling herself together as best she could. "Oh, Isa" Vivian began, "I didn't know you were here, Mija". She sniffled again slightly and hid her tissue inside of her sleeve; Isabella knelt down in front of her whilst taking her hand. "Mom, what's happened? Please tell me" said Isabella endearingly. She rubbed her mother's hand whilst trying to force a smile in order to get Vivian to explain everything; she hated to see her mother so upset. "Cariño (sweetie), your father's had some bad news today" said Vivian in a shaky voice; "it's Grandpa Garcia". Isabella pretty much knew what was coming next even though her mother hadn't finished her explanation yet; she sat up straight, took a deep breath, and braced herself for the news. "Grandpa passed away this afternoon" explained Vivian; "he collapsed at the market and fell into cardiac arrest".

Isabella's Grandpa Garcia lived in Mexico and was her father's father; she hadn't seen him for a long time due to living so far away from him, but the news did shock and hurt her as it was so unexpected. She took a second to compose herself despite forming little tears in the sides of her eyes, but she needed to be strong for her mom. "Oh mom, I'm so sorry" she began; "where's Papá? Is he okay?" Vivian took hold of her daughter's dainty hands and squeezed them tightly; "Papá's had to go away, Isa" said Vivian tearfully; "he left abruptly this afternoon on the first flight he could catch". Isabella didn't quite understand what she meant; why did her father have to leave Danville so quickly? "What do you mean, mom?" Isabella asked; "where has he gone?" "Mija, he's had to go to Santa Fe (Mexico City) to sort out a lot of paperwork for Grandpa" Vivian explained. Isabella had never experienced a death in the family as Grandpa Shapiro and Grandma Garcia passed away before she was born, so she didn't have a clue why her father had to suddenly pack up and do paperwork in Santa Fe. She sat and thought for a moment before realising what Vivian meant; her father was Grandpa's only living relative, so he had to go away to sort out funeral arrangements and other important issues. "Oh" Isabella said finally, "when will he be coming back do you think?" Vivian looked at her daughter blankly; she honestly didn't know how to explain this whole mess to her at such a young age. "Isa, he won't be coming back" Vivian finally managed to say; "we will be going to him". "Oh, you mean for the funeral?" asked Isabella innocently. Vivian shook her head whilst tears streamed down her face. "Grandpa will already be buried, Mija" she explained; "he's being buried tonight next to your Bubbe (Grandmother)". Isabella did not understand any of this; she knew that a lot of Jewish people got buried on the same day of their passing out of respect for the body, but she also knew that they make exceptions sometimes to allow family members to attend the funeral and pay their own respects. "I don't know what you mean" said Isabella in a shaky yet frustrated tone; "why isn't Papá coming back to Danville?" Vivian hated this entire situation as she knew how hurt her daughter was going to be after the conversation, but she took a deep breath and let it out. "We have to move back to Santa Fe, Isa" she eventually blurted out; "your Grandpa's house is in such a bad way, there's no one left to take over his business, and your father simply wants to be back in Mexico for sentimental reasons".

Isabella had never been so shocked in her entire life, but that shock soon turned to sadness and an internal rage. "W-we have to leave Danville? L-leave the country?" Isabella stuttered. Vivian saw the light leaving her daughter's beautiful blue eyes as she uttered those words, and her heart broke to see her in such a bad way. She knew how much Danville meant to Isabella, and she knew how badly she was going to miss her friends and the entire neighbourhood. She moved a strand of hair from Isabella's face and held her cheeks in her hands lovingly. "Mi niña hermosa (my beautiful girl) I am so sorry" said Vivian quietly; "Papá is determined to run Grandpa's business and mend his home to make up for not visiting him often enough". Isabella could understand her father's motives to an extent, but to move away from the life they'd built for themselves in Danville only to throw it all away again over a guilt trip didn't sit right with her. She was always a very loving and empathetic person, but her love of Danville had become too strong for her to bring kindness anywhere near this situation. "W-what?!" Isabella nearly shouted; "move back to Santa Fe? But I haven't lived there since I was a baby!" Vivian saw that Isabella was panicking and tried to calm her down, but she couldn't be restrained or reasoned with due to how shocked she was. "I can't leave Danville!" shouted Isabella; "What about school? And the Fireside Girls? And my friends? And what about Ph-". She ceased her shouting suddenly as she realised she wouldn't only be leaving her school, troop and friends behind, but she'd be leaving Phineas too. Vivian had always known about Isabella's affection towards Phineas, and she watched achingly as Isabella's eyes welled up with tears. She attempted to comfort Isabella but was too late as she'd already sprinted her way upstairs to her bedroom; she felt like the worst mother ever. Not only was she asking her daughter to move away to other country with a new school, friends and climate, but she was asking her to leave behind the most important person in her life.

Isabella was heartbroken; she was curled up in her pastel pink sheets which were now laced with tears and angry words. Phineas was her best friend without a doubt, but he was also the only person to ever give her butterflies and make her happy beyond belief. Despite being able to make her ridiculously happy, Phineas also caused Isabella immense pain. Even though she'd been given numerous patches and awards for her bravery and confidence, she could never pluck up the courage to tell Phineas how she truly felt about him as she worried what it might do to their incredible friendship. What if Phineas didn't feel the same way? How would their friendship manage to carry on after her confession? What if he never wanted to see her again due to the awkwardness between them? These thoughts raced around in Isabella's mind whenever she's tried to tell Phineas how she really feels. She didn't consider herself to be a pessimist whatsoever, but whenever it came to that sweet little triangular boy she always jumped to the worst conclusions! She had no idea when she had to leave Danville, but what she _did_ know was that she needed to tell Phineas everything before she left forever. She tried to rationalise everything in her head whilst she wept, but she wasn't in the right frame of mind to do so. She couldn't even think of a good way to tell Buford and Baljeet that she was moving away, let alone Phineas. "Get it together, Fireside Girl" she whispered to herself; "a stupid crush shouldn't stop you from moving away with your family". The problem was it wasn't just a stupid crush, it was far from it. Stupid crushes were when you simply wanted to be around a certain person 24/7 to make them fall for you in dumb ways, but Isabella wanted more than that. She obviously loved to spend time with Phineas, and she definitely wanted him to fall for her, but she never wanted to manipulate him into doing so. All she wanted was for him to be happy, and spending time with the gang doing ridiculous things all summer seemed to make him happy, so that's what she did. Isabella let out a saddened sigh before she stepped out of bed to change into her pyjamas. She lay awake in bed as her anxieties were getting the better of her; how was she going to explain all of this to her friends?


	2. Chapter 2: Whatcha doin?

**Chapter 2: Whatcha doin?**

August 25th followed the next morning. Isabella hadn't slept and was curled up in the foetal position, and Vivian had also slept badly due to her mind racing on what needs to be done before the move. Vivian got up early and made Isabella a hot cup of tea to try and perk her up; she figured Isabella wouldn't have slept the night before. "Mija" she said whilst opening Isabella's bedroom door, "I've made you some tea with honey". Isabella hadn't moved; it was like she was stuck in a pit of glue. Vivian simply stood in the doorway awaiting her daughter's reply, but no words came from Isabella's mouth; all she did was bring her knees closer to her chest for comfort. Vivian didn't really know what to say to her; she knew deep down that any words of comfort wouldn't help Isabella feel better, so she put her mug of tea down on her bedside table and left the room. Isabella had stopped crying sometime during the night, but not because she felt any better about the situation. She'd stopped crying because there physically weren't any tears left for her to cry out! She lay awake all night with red eyes, a blotchy face, messy hair and clenched fists, and this was the first time in years that she didn't want to get up and head over to the Flynn Fletcher's house in the early morning. Her overalls and t-shirt had been cast aside lazily the night before and were now creased, but she really didn't care how she looked anymore. She was moving away; there wasn't any point in her looking her best for Phineas anymore. She lay in her bed a little while longer before the scent of the honey-filled tea made its way to her nostrils. It cleared her sinuses to simply smell the tea's scent, so she finally sat up and sipped her drink slowly in order to savour its sweet taste. After finishing her beverage, Isabella trudged out of bed to get ready for the day. She showered, washed her messy hair, cleaned her blotchy face, dressed herself, and made her way downstairs. By the time she had reached the kitchen her mother had already left for the day; Isabella guessed she'd gone out with Linda Flynn to do some awesome mom stuff and talk about the move. She made herself some toast with jam which tasted so sweet after such an awful night's sleep, and she then went back upstairs to brush her teeth.

Across the street, Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet and Buford were already in the backyard with inventive ideas in their heads. Isabella looked over at them all through her bedroom window, and she began to contemplate how she was going to bring up the subject of her moving away. She took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh before leaving the house. She usually ran or skipped her way across the street to see Phineas and the gang, but she was instead walking rather sluggishly in order to buy herself some more thinking time. "So according to Baljeet's calculations, it should be up and running as soon as the motivator's engine hits 150 knots" said a familiar voice from the other side of the wooden gate. "150.75 knots" said Baljeet knowingly; "if you want to be exact about it". "I'm exact about the fact that I'm gonna punch you in the face right now if you don't stop explaining junk by using decimal points!" said an angry Buford in Baljeet's direction. Isabella giggled to herself from behind the gate, but her laughter had an awful sadness about it. Her hand slowly and tentatively reached for the gate's handle, but she stopped in her tracks in order to reprocess what she wanted to say to everyone. She finally pushed the gate open and walked into the backyard in an unsettled sort of manner. She tried her hardest to muster up a "whatcha doin?", but her mind didn't seem to want her to say it. The boys were already hard at work with whatever they were doing, and all Isabella could say was "h-hi guys". The four of them turned to Isabella with concerned looks on their faces, even Ferb. Where was her "whatcha doin?" they all wondered; they knew immediately that something was astray. Isabella stood in front of the boys with a vacant expression, and her fingers were anxiously intertwining with each other. "Um, Hi Isabella" Phineas began in a concerned tone; "everything okay?" Her mind had suddenly gone blank after Phineas spoke; everything she'd planned on saying to them had completely slipped her mind. "Huh? Um, yeah. E-everything's fine" Isabella muttered. The boys weren't convinced, and they all took a few steps closer to her in order to figure out what was up. Baljeet took out his magnifying glass from his pocket and began to inspect Isabella's face. "Uh, Baljeet" said Isabella squeamishly; " _what_ are you doing?" "Hmm, just as I suspected" said Baljeet as he put his glass away; "sleep deprivation". Isabella's eyes suddenly widened; she knew she hadn't slept, but she was trying so hard to cover it up. "Huh, what? No! I'm fine" said Isabella quickly. "Nah Isabella, you've got some _major_ punchin bags underneath your eyes" said Buford as he pointed towards Isabella's tired eyes. Isabella anxiously ran her index finger beneath her left eye to see if the boys were telling the truth, and they were right. Being a kid meant that she had no access to makeup or any form of concealer, so it was pretty difficult for her to hide her eye bags that morning. "Um... It's okay. I-I'm fine" Isabella stuttered; "I just had a bit of a rough night". Buford and Baljeet shrugged and made their way back over to the huge invention, but Phineas stood there with the same look of confusion he'd been wearing for the last few minutes. He walked up to Isabella and placed his hand on her shoulder; this made her feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside. "Are you sure you're okay?" said Phineas with concern; "cause if not we can skip the whole hydraulic energy convertor thing and have a movie day instead". Isabella was touched by Phineas' kind words, but she still didn't know what to say. "I-it's okay, Phineas" Isabella began; "I'm fine. I don't want you to miss out on this incredib-". She suddenly stopped talking so she could let out a little yawn, and Phineas crossed his arms whilst giving her a smug look. "Isabella, you're tired" said Phineas; "you're not safe to work on this sort of thing when you're not well". Isabella looked at the ground in disappointment; she didn't want the boys to miss out on their awesome new machine. "If I let you work on this with us and you ended up getting hurt then I'd never forgive myself" said Phineas whilst gesturing towards the machine. Isabella lifted her head up to meet Phineas' eyes; did he really care about her like that? "R-really" she whispered with tears forming yet again. "Of course!" said Phineas; "you're my best friend, Isabella". This made her tear up causing Phineas to look even more concerned. "Hey, what's the matter, Isabella?" he said in a worried tone. Isabella couldn't bring herself to answer, so she simply ran back across the street and into her own house.

"Gosh" Phineas began; "Isabella's very unpredictable this morning". "Yeah" agreed Buford; "the gal's never this over-emotional". "Well" said Baljeet, "young girls _do_ reach a certain point where their hormones become too much for them to handle due to changes in their reproduc-" His biological explanation was put to a stop when Buford inadvertently punched him in the face; he didn't like where the conversation was heading. "Urgh" groaned Baljeet as he lifted his head off of the grass; "I thought you said you were going to punch me if I explained things by using decimal points!" "Yeah, but I just hate all that hormone stuff" replied Buford; "Buford doesn't like". "You don't think it _is_ something along those lines, do you?" Phineas asked Baljeet. "Well, it happens to every female eventually" said Baljeet who was now upright and dusting himself off; "and we _are_ approaching the age where things start to change". Phineas put his hand towards his chin to think; "well, I better go and see what's up" he said as he made his way to the gate. Ferb then appeared in front of his stepbrother with his arms stretched out to the sides; he didn't want Phineas to go over there. "Huh, what gives Ferb?" Phineas asked. Ferb then pointed to himself to signify that it would be better if he went over to Isabella's instead; he was a great listener after all. "Huh, you wanna go over?" asked Phineas; Ferb gave a little nod in agreement. "Well, okay" said Phineas; "just go and see if she's alright".

Ferb made his way over to the other side of Maple Drive and towards Isabella's front door. He knocked on the door loudly but gently and waited for an answer. Isabella peaked through her curtains to find the green haired Brit standing on the doorstep, so she immediately went over to answer his call. "Hey Ferb" she said whilst wiping some tears away; "come on in". Ferb scuttled his way indoors, wiping his feet in the process. Isabella lead them to the living room where she signalled him to sit down. Ferb leant over and handed Isabella a handkerchief to blow her nose with; she took it willingly and gave him a smile. "I'm sorry about earlier, Ferb" Isabella began; "it's been a rough 12 hours". She blew her nose slightly on the handkerchief whilst Ferb put his hand on her shoulder for comfort; he wanted her to explain what's _really_ been going on. "I didn't know how to tell you all" said Isabella with a stuffed nose, "but, I have to move away". She could barely get the sentence out of her mouth without bursting into tears all over again. She blew her nose again and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry Ferb. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you all, but there's just no easy way to say it" Isabella said tearfully. Ferb, ever the emotionless one, actually let out a tiny tear from his left eye; he was truly upset. Isabella was an amazing friend, and he was deeply saddened at her news. "It was hard enough trying to work out how to tell you, Baljeet and Buford" Isabella began again, "but I've no idea what I'm supposed to tell Phineas". She began to cry rather deeply to herself as her heart was genuinely breaking, but then Ferb pulled her into a hug which was so unlike him. He patted her back whilst fighting back his own tears, and she then returned the hug after the initial shock of spontaneous affection from Ferb. "All you need to tell Phineas is how you _really_ feel about him" said Ferb finally. Isabella looked shocked; she'd sort of guessed that Ferb knew how she felt about his stepbrother, but she never thought he'd actually verbalise it. "Y-you really think I should tell Phineas how I feel?" said Isabella. Ferb gave a nod in agreement. "But, don't you think that it's a bit pointless to tell him now?" asked Isabella; "I mean, I've had so many years and so many chances to tell him everything, but I choke every time I get close to him! Even if he _does_ feel the same way, I'm not going to be here to make it work!"


	3. Chapter 3: One of the guys

**Chapter 3: One of the guys**

Back at the Flynn Fletcher's, Baljeet and Buford were making slight modifications to their hydraulic converter, but Phineas was stood longingly with a hammer in hand whilst glancing over the street. "Phineas!" shouted Baljeet, "do you _not_ want the fate of the world to be changed today?" Phineas didn't hear Baljeet at all; he was worried about what was going on at Isabella's. Buford and Baljeet looked at each other in confusion; what was up with him? Buford violently nudged Baljeet over to where Phineas was standing, and he then started waving his hand in front of Phineas' face to grab his attention. "Huh, what?" said Phineas in confusion as he snapped back to reality. "You were daydreamin, bro" said Buford who was screwing in a nail at the bottom of the converter. "Yes, you are _never_ this distracted" said Baljeet in agreement. "Huh, I guess I'm just a bit worried about Isabella" said Phineas as he glanced over the fence again; "I hope she's okay and, you know, not having girly problems". Baljeet and Buford caught each other's knowing looks, and they nodded at each other to go ahead with what they were both thinking. "So, Phineas" Baljeet began; "Isabella's a nice girl, huh?" At this point Phineas was physically on his tiptoes peering over the fence in anticipation; again, he hadn't really heard what Baljeet had said for a while. "What?" Phineas said as he returned to the present; "of course she's a nice girl, she's Isabella". Baljeet gave Buford a glance and an eye roll to signal him to come over. "Yeah but, she's _real_ nice, huh?" said Buford in an elongated way. Baljeet face-palmed in desperation. "Uh, yeah. She's really nice" Phineas agreed; "she's amazing, in fact". The boys nodded at each other and fist bumped secretively before going in further. "I wonder why she _always_ wants to hang out with us boys" Baljeet interjected whilst caressing his chin sarcastically. "Yeah, we're just a bunch of nerds, plus me!" Buford pointed out; "what _could_ she want with us?" "Well, she's our friend, isn't she?" Phineas said whilst stepping away from the fence; "she hangs out with us because she likes us, right?". "I dunno" Buford began; "there must be something or someone _majorly_ specific which makes her want to hang out with us every single day of the week. Possibly something or someone that resembles a certain three sided shape..." Phineas looked blankly at his two friends; they were awaiting his realisation. "Nah" said Phineas whilst laughing slightly; "she likes us all, we're her best friends". Baljeet and Buford stared at the ignorant boy vacantly before backing away slowly and conspicuously.

Over on the other side of Maple Drive, Isabella and Ferb had pretty much finished their little heart-to-heart chat. "So, you _really_ think that I should get Phineas over here for a talk?" Isabella asked Ferb. Ferb nodded to answer Isabella's question, and Isabella let out a large but shaky breath. Ferb took her hand to comfort and ease her; she turned to smile at her good friend in order to thank him for his help. Ferb stood up from the sofa and made his way back across the street. He'd been gone for just over an hour, so Phineas was getting pretty worried about the whole situation. Ferb opened the backyard gate and wandered into the yard where the boys were stood admiring their converter; Phineas turned to see his stepbrother walking towards them. "Bro, what happened?" said Phineas with concern; "you were gone for over an hour!" "Did she gross you out with mushy girly talk?" asked Buford with a squeamish face. Ferb shrugged his shoulders in answer to the question. "Is Isabella okay?" asked Phineas; "she's not _really_ having girl problems, is she?" Even though Phineas was well educated with matters of human biology, it still made him slightly uncomfortable to think about those kinds of things. Isabella was a minority in their friendship group with being the only female, so the boys never really spoke about girly things as they considered her to be an honorary guy. Ferb still hadn't answered his stepbrother's question, so Phineas prompted him with raised eyebrows and crossed arms. "She's not feeling very well" said Ferb finally. "Urgh, I knew it!" cried Buford whilst holding his face in his hands; "I can't deal with her anymore, she's turning into a woman!" "Buford, she has _always_ been a woman" explained Baljeet. "Nah, she's always been one of the guys, nitwit!" Buford retaliated; "if I've gotta deal with emotions, mood swings, feminine hygiene, cramps or any of that nonsense then I'm outta here!" "Well that's not very fair" Phineas began; "imagine how Isabella feels with all those bodily changes? She must be so confused". "I agree" said Baljeet with a raised finger; "we cannot simply leave her alone to get through all of this by herself!" "Yeah, it may not be the most ideal way to end our summer, but the least we can do is try to make Isabella feel better" said Phineas encouragingly. "Come on, let's head over there right now to make her some dinner" Phineas said as he began to walk towards the gate. "Actually, she wanted to have a little talk with you" said Ferb as he pointed in Phineas' direction. "Me?" asked Phineas; "well, okay then. I'll be back later, guys". Buford and Baljeet nudged each other with excitement whilst letting out little squeals. "You say you can't handle girly talk and yet this is your reaction to the current situation?" Ferb asked Buford. Buford stood blankly for a moment; "don't tell me you haven't been waiting for this sort of heartfelt moment since the very first episode" said Buford with crossed arms.


	4. Chapter 4: Isabella, interrupted

**Chapter 4: Isabella, interrupted**

Phineas walked reluctantly over the street towards Isabella's house; he had no idea what you were supposed to do for a hormonal female, so he just intended on being as friendly as possible. He knocked on the door completely unaware of what condition Isabella would be in when she answered it, but no answer came for a long while. Phineas suddenly noticed a patch of large daisies that were growing on Isabella's front lawn; he brought out his Swiss army knife and cut their stems so he could carry them in his hands. He arranged the flowers as best he could before Isabella finally answered the door, and he jumped slightly when she did so. "Oh, hey Isabella" said Phineas as he scratched his head a little; "Ferb told me you needed me to come over". Isabella had been crying again unknowingly to Phineas, but her eyes were red and her face was blotchy. "Oh, yeah" said Isabella quietly; "would you like to come in?". "If that's okay?" asked Phineas who was still holding the daisies in one hand. "W-what are those for?" Isabella asked hesitantly; "are they from the front lawn?" "Uh, maybe" Phineas replied with an awkward giggle; "I just figured you'd like them". Isabella let out a little smile from the side of her mouth; "that's so sweet, Phineas" she replied. He handed her the flowers in a gentlemanly manner before following her inside; he felt nervous, but he didn't know why.

Isabella led Phineas into the kitchen where she filled a vase with some water for her new daisies; she was so gentle with them. "So, uh, Ferb said you weren't feeling too good" Phineas began as he edged his way around the kitchen table. Isabella didn't look up from the vase; she simply carried on arranging the flowers despite them already being perfectly placed. "W-we can't specifically help, but we can try to make you feel more comfortable" said Phineas lovingly. Isabella didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but she was too exhausted to pursue the conversation further. "You're not in any pain, are you?" Phineas asked as he made his way closer to Isabella. Isabella was in tremendous pain, but she still didn't know how to approach the matter out of fear and embarrassment. "I-I'm" Isabella stuttered; "I-I don't know". Phineas stood looking at his best friend in complete confusion; he didn't know what he could do for her. Isabella felt herself getting emotional again, so she turned away to wipe her face without Phineas seeing. "I wish you'd tell me what's wrong, Isabella" said Phineas who was now standing next to his friend; "is it something we said?" "No, it's nothing" Isabella lied; "you haven't done anything".

A large tear ran down Isabella's left cheek; gravity took hold which made it splatter onto the kitchen table and ripple away. She sniffled slightly whilst wiping the excess water from her cheek, but before she knew it there was a wave of emotions which had to be expelled through vigorous tears. She sobbed into her little hands with the constant anxiety that Phineas was watching her cry, but she was soon taken into a loving embrace. Phineas couldn't think of anything else to do other than to hug his devastated friend, so he wrapped her in his noodle-like arms in hope that she would feel better. He felt her body shake from the sobbing, so he gently stroked her hair in order to calm her. Phineas had never noticed how lovely Isabella's hair smelt; he'd never been this close to her for so long, so there was no way of knowing beforehand. It smelt like strawberry ice cream, which was her favourite flavour due to its pink colour, and Phineas couldn't help but stand there and take in her scent. After the initial shock of Phineas' embrace, Isabella returned the hug by wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her head beneath his neck. Phineas then manoeuvred his arms around Isabella's waist in order to stroke her back; she was so small and dainty which he'd also never really realised. "Its okay" said Phineas softly; "I want to help".

Isabella never wanted their embrace to end, but she finally removed herself from him in order to wipe her face. She was worried about what she looked like after such an awful cry, but Phineas didn't care; all he wanted to do was help. "Are they really _that_ bad?" Phineas asked. Isabella looked confused at Phineas' question; "a-are _what_ really _that_ bad?" she replied. "You know?" said Phineas as he gestured towards Isabella's stomach; "your, female problems". Isabella had finally caught on to what he meant, so she let out a slight giggle whilst shaking her head. "No, Phineas" Isabella responded; "it's got nothing to do with that". "Oh, well I don't quite understand then" replied Phineas who was now extremely oblivious; "Baljeet said you're probably going through some hormonal issues which is why you're so emotional". Isabella couldn't help but smile at her friend's ignorance, but this meant that she now had no choice but to explain everything. "No, everything's fine in _that_ sense" said Isabella; "there won't be any problems there for a while, hopefully".

Isabella slumped over to the sofa that was situated on the other side of the kitchen, and Phineas followed closely behind her. "I'm confused" Phineas began; "if there's no hormonal aspect to your mood then I'm not sure what's causing it". Isabella couldn't look Phineas in the eye as she was afraid her tears would start falling once more, so she instead stared blankly at the floor. "I-I'm not sure how to begin" said Isabella finally; "I'm so overwhelmed, and not in a good way". Phineas' concern grew ever fiercer, so he took Isabella's hand in his own and intertwined their fingers. They somehow fit perfectly together without even trying. It took Isabella a moment to realise what was going on, and it wasn't until she felt a rush of warmth enter her body that she looked down to see their adjoined hands. She felt so at ease with Phineas, but there was a constant feeling of anxiety that encompassed her whenever he was around. "I want to help you, Isabella" said Phineas whilst rubbing her hand; "we all do".

Isabella appreciated Phineas kind words and his affectionate nature, and she started to feel a little less anxious at long last. She allowed her hand to become loose from Phineas' whilst she sat herself upright on the sofa and crossed her legs; she thought that now was as good a time as any to tell him what was really going on. "Okay Phineas" she began; "this isn't an easy thing to say so you'll have to bear with me". Phineas looked at his friend with concern; "o-okay. Take your time" he replied. Isabella took a deep breath whilst closing her eyes, but just before she was about to speak there was an enormous noise from the front door. Before the two youngsters knew what was going on, they'd been surrounded by Fireside Girls Troop 46231; they'd overheard Vivian telling Linda about the move.

"Chief!" yelled Gretchen as she adjusted her glasses; "we came as soon as we heard!" Isabella was mortified; she loved her troop with all her heart, but she didn't want Phineas to hear the truth from anyone but herself. "Gretch, it's not the best time" Isabella muttered whilst gesturing her head towards Phineas; the girl's weren't listening however. "Katie overheard your mom and Mrs Flynn-Fletcher talking at the mall this afternoon!" said Adyson abruptly; "why didn't you say anything?" Phineas had never been more confused in his life; "I'm sorry, but what the heck is going on?" he said in an almost shout. "The move" Katie interjected; "why didn't you tell us?" Isabella's entire body sunk into the sofa whilst her head fell towards the back cushions; she felt so ashamed and upset. "Huh?" said Phineas who was still looking in the direction of the troop; "what move?"

The Fireside Girls stood silently for a moment as they came to the realisation of what they'd done; they were so upset about Isabella's move that they hadn't noticed Phineas' presence in the room. "Oh..." Gretchen began; "Oops". "Isabella, are you moving away?" asked Phineas in a shaky voice; he felt a sudden wave of sadness which he'd never experienced before. The troop began to scuttle away rather conspicuously in order to escape the awkwardness they'd just created; after Milly shut the door they walked over to the Flynn-Fletcher's back yard to talk to the boys. Isabella felt physically sick, and she hadn't a clue how she was supposed to answer Phineas' question. She sunk further and further into the sofa as her hands met her cheeks, and she sighed deeply whilst letting a small tear fall from her right eye. Phineas was so overwhelmed with negative emotions that he didn't know where to begin; he felt sad, angry, confused, scared, anxious, lost, and genuinely upset. "Isabella?" Phineas asked; "what happened?"


End file.
